Propaganda In Animal Farm

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Herd This Warning Pigs and people are more similar than one would think, or at least in the world of Animal Farm. Both seek for power over the farm and both will use any means necessary in order to achieve that goal. An easy way to secure dominance at the top would be to hinder the inquiry of the people. In their quest for totalitarian power, the pigs use propaganda and diversion to guarantee their political success while the other animals suffer from their actions. Animal Farm can be seen as a cautionary tale due to the similarities between the pig’s pursuit of power and the current political status in the United States of America. One of the first methods used by the pigs to ensure hegemony over the farm is propaganda. Squealer often alters…show more content…
Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health.” (Chapter 3). In this instance, he covers up the fact that the pigs are eating well while the rest of the animals starve with the façade that it’s to boost their brainpower. After all, for Squealer, the pigs were the hardworking ones on the farm. This can be exemplified today by the resurgence of fake news. Despite it becoming a colloquial term, fake news is used to alter the perspective of people – especially those who are uneducated. Since a chunk of the population gets their news from one source and they don’t double check the facts presented to them, they take it word for word as the truth. This can be damaging to a society as groups of people can be brainwashed into…show more content…
Squealer falsely convinces the animals that Snowball is the reason behind their problems whenever Napoleon makes an unpopular or contentious decision. “Suppose you had decided to follow Snowball, with his moonshine of windmills– Snowball, who, as we now know, was no better than a criminal?” (Chapter 5). This claim is supported by no facts, just belief. Instead of allowing the animals to think about what Napoleon is doing, Squealer turns their attention to anger directed towards Snowball. This closely resembles the modern era where certain news anchors blame Hillary Clinton when Donald Trump comes under fire for a controversial or unpopular decision. They even use the same words as Squealer, calling her a criminal, in addition to Crooked Hillary. By calling for her to be locked up, people’s attention is diverted from the present to the past. It’s a convincing tool to get people angry at someone other than the suspect. However, by so, it turns heads away from the issues that matter the most, in the present. Doing so is a disservice to the American people as it disables them from assessing the current political status of things. Whether it be from a pig or a person, propaganda and diversion are popular methods used by political leaders to ensure their dominance over a population. By incorrectly informing and directly distracting the brains of the people away from a leader,
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